Trading under the symbol “ZOES,” the company, now based in Plano, Texas, the company opened at $15 per share with an initial public offering of 5.8 million shares. It quickly shot up into the $20s and got as high as $26.14 per share before closing at $25.10 per share.

Zoe and Marcus Cassimus started the restaurant in Homewood in 1995 and their son, John, took over and grew it before selling a majority interest to Brentwood Associates in 2007. It has grown to 111 restaurants in 15 states and has said it plans to add another 28 to 30 locations this year.